Of Snakes and Sex and Playing in the Rain
Random Thoughts on Harmful Things

Essays by Clay Reynolds

ISBN 0-9728775-5-X
ISBN 978-0-9728775-5-8

6X9 Paperback with Perfect Binding
196 Pages

These fourteen personal essays by one of Texas’ most prolific authors are in turn humorous, down-home, literary, informative, nostalgic and all-around enjoyable to read. Written at various periods in his life, they invite us to come to know a man who not only reveals himself as only a poet can do, but who also speaks with profundity and truth about life, its foibles, successes and failures. Whether visiting Aunt Minnie, Graceland, a trout stream, or a secluded book signing, we are always entertained and wiser for the trip.

WHAT OTHERS SAY:

JAMES MAGNUSON, Director of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas Austin, writes, “This is a treasure-trove created by one of Texas’ most accomplished authors . . . There isn’t an essay in this volume you’re going to want to miss . . . This book is a hoot.”

JAMES HOGGARD, author of Riding the Wind and Wearing the River writes “The great pleasure of fine personal essays is the illusion of good conversation with a writer whose stories and remarks are so engaging we think we’re chatting with him. That happens throughout Clay Reynolds’ new collection . . .”

ROBERT FLYNN, author of Tie-Fast Country and Slouching Toward Zion writes, “With good humor and good sense, Clay Reynolds tees off on modern eccentricities of golf, baseball, warning labels on milk, high school romance . . . In golfing terms, Reynolds hits a hole in one.”

CLAY REYNOLDS, native Texan, novelist and scholar, is the author of more than a thousand publications ranging from critical studies to short fiction and poems, essays, reviews and twelve published volumes. He has served as fiction editor for several literary magazines and as editorial consultant for publishers, bookstores, writer's organizations, and individual writers. He was educated at the University of Texas in Austin, Trinity University in San Antonio, and the University of Tulsa. He is an NEA Fellow, a member of the Texas Institute of Letters, and serves as Professor of Arts & Humanities at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Reynolds' third novel, Franklin's Crossing was entered into the Pulitzer Prize competition for 1992; it also received the Violet Crown Award for fiction as well as other awards and honors; Monuments also won the Violet Crown Award for 2000. Both novels were finalists for the Western Writers of America Spur Award, which has also honored Reynolds' short fiction; he has also been runner-up for both essay and fiction prizes from PEN and the Texas Institute of Letters, among other literary awards. He has received grants from the Texas Commission for the Arts and is also a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow.

PRAISE FOR REYNOLDS’ PREVIOUS WORK:

–"Reynolds knows how to create and sustain tension without resorting to sensationalism."–Gary Krist, The New York Times Book Review

–"Reynolds' ability to embroider a simple story makes for a quietly captivating read." –Kevin Whitehead, The Baltimore Sun

–Reynolds is an arresting voice, a writer of scope, vision, and vigorous storytelling ability. –Stephen King

–"Reynolds' work is ambitious and absorbing" –Larry McMurtry

–"Reynolds' prose is well calculated to captivate the reader." –Publisher's Weekly

–Reynolds has combined his interest in the bizarre antics of everyday folks with the value of the past and what it can teach us."–Texas Writer's Newsletter